Arcadia district goes virtual as COVID-19 cases rise

At last Monday’s regular meeting of the Arcadia school board, principals gave reports that were largely laudatory of students, staff and the district’s effort to maintain an in-person instruction option for the first month of the school year.

Though scheduling and teaching on multiple platforms concurrently was proving a challenge to some teachers, principals assured they were getting the support they needed to carry on. There were three confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the district over the first month, all of whom had been quarantined along with close contacts through contact tracing efforts with assistance from the Trempealeau County Health Department. Students were largely cooperative with masks and social distancing measures across grade levels.

By Thursday however, the district had shut down to in-person instruction until Oct. 12 after confirmed cases had jumped to nine students across the Arcadia Elementary, Middle and High Schools. Contact tracing had placed over 150 additional kids in quarantine after close contact on a bus or in a classroom with those positive cases, and 20 staff members had been quarantined as well. Of those 20, nine were staff members coming in close contact with a positive case outside of school, while the other 11 were deemed a close contact with a student at school. As of Friday, no staff members had tested positive.

District superintendent Lance Bagstad said the quarantine-induced staff shortages prevented the district from being able to adequately supervise classrooms, forcing the move back to remote instruction. He added that the decision was not made lightly, with considerations being made for students, families, staff, the community and businesses.

“We have done numerous things to mitigate risk and to avoid this happening through the mandatory use of face-coverings, additional cleaning processes, enforcement of hand hygiene, and practicing social distancing to the greatest extent possible,” Bagstad said. “It is important to note that we have not had any transmission of COVID-19 within our school buildings, on our buses, or through any of our extra-curricular activities or athletics, which indicates that the measures we are taking are working.”

Bagstad said the issue has been primarily with quarantining students who came in close contact with an individual who had been in attendance prior to their positive test. He called the move back to remote learning “disappointing” but believed the time away from gathering in person would help the district hit the “reset” button and try again.

“We will come back with renewed energy on Oct. 12 and continue to reinforce the need to do those things that help us mitigate risk and keep our buildings open,” Bagstad said. “We know that face-to-face instruction is the best for our students and our goal is to do what we can to make that happen.”

District schools had already been meeting virtually on Fridays, so the closure to in-person learning began Monday and will last through Friday, Oct. 9. Sports deemed “low-risk” by the district including girls golf and boys and girls cross country will continue over the next two weeks. The girls golf team will participate in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament series starting Wednesday in Black River Falls, while the cross country team will participate in virtual, individual workouts and avoid team gatherings. Cross country will return in time for the start of their WIAA tournament series the week of Oct. 19. Volleyball and soccer suspended team practices for two weeks, and plan to return the week of Oct. 12 for games prior to the start of their WIAA tournament series the following week.

Indoor and outdoor district facilities will not be open for students throughout the mandatory remote learning period, and school-age students were prohibited from the Wanek Center from 3:15 p.m. on Sept. 25 through 8:15 a.m. on Oct. 12.